People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1685: The kings and ministers have their own thoughts

It was dawn, and dewdrops dripped gently from the catapult, directly onto the face of the young general in blue and silver armor below.

The cold touch woke him up instantly from almost falling asleep.

Boom!

A thunderous sound suddenly rang out between heaven and earth, and the young general suddenly jumped up from the ground.

The next moment, a ten-foot-long crossbow appeared in front of him.

In an instant, a fist-sized hole was pierced in the young general's chest.

From the hole, you can clearly see the Qianyang Palace behind.

And an extremely gloomy face.

Yan Huaidan looked at the corpse that fell to the ground with a plop, waved his hand, and his guards immediately dragged the young General from Taiyuan away.

The blood flowed from the corpse to the ground, then mixed with the old bloodstains and gradually became blurred.

"Strange, why don't they attack today?" Yan Huaidan looked across the Luo River and towards the end of Dingdingmen Street opposite, where more than a dozen huge three-bow crossbows were stationed. The south bank of the Luo River in front was filled with countless catapults.

Although this modified catapult could not throw boulders the size of washbasins onto the Duanmen Gate, it could throw slightly smaller stones up endlessly.

Although it won't kill someone in one blow, it will definitely cause breaking bones and bleeding heads.

A dense row of them was lined up directly on the south bank of the Luo River opposite the Ziwei Palace, which would definitely cause great damage during the siege.

On the Luo River, more than a dozen sunken ships of various sizes were floating on it, with corpses hooked nearby.

After three days and three nights of continuous attacks, everyone in and outside the city was exhausted.

Especially after the flaws in the city were gradually discovered and mastered, the casualties of the Tang army attacking the city became fewer and fewer. On the contrary, the casualties of those defending the city became increasingly heavy.

Especially the three-bow crossbow placed there.

Yan Huaidan had never seen such a uniquely conceived national weapon in all his years of military campaigns.

He could shoot directly from Luohe South to the Duanmen Gate in an instant.

King Peng also hid this kind of good stuff.

damn it.

Cold eyes suddenly appeared in Yan Huaidan's sight. Suddenly, Yan Huaidan shuddered and subconsciously shrank back behind the gate tower.

"Heh!" Li Xuan's sneer echoed throughout both sides of the Luo River.

On the walls of Ziwei Palace, countless people couldn't help but blush.

……

"There are not many old soldiers left in the palace." Li Xuan rode his horse to the end of Dingdingmen Street and stopped. He raised his eyes and glanced at the palace gate, then turned sideways and asked, "Are our casualties heavy?"

"The total number of casualties from all guards is over 10,000. More than 30% can be rescued and return to the battlefield, 20% may have to retire completely, and more than 5,000 people died. They were all elite veteran soldiers." Su Baotong's face was full of pity.

Li Xuan said calmly: "Those who are injured will all be transferred to the Imperial Guard in the future. Those who are retired and can move will all be transferred to the Jinwu Guard. For those who died, their children and grandchildren will be transferred to the Qianniu Guard."

"Yes!" Countless voices rang out on the south bank of the Luo River.

Everyone looked excited, their eyes fixed on the Duanmen Gate opposite.

Yan Huaidan, who was about to stand up, suddenly retracted his steps and stepped back, unable to help but sigh in his heart.

Among the Sixteen Guards, although the Left and Right Guards had the strongest combat power and were also responsible for defending Chang'an and Luoyang, in the final analysis, they were merely stationed outside the city. Only during their rest periods would they have the opportunity to take off their armor and stroll into Chang'an City.

There is no comparison with the Imperial Guards, Jinwu Guards, and Qianniu Guards.

The Imperial Guards were the emperor's personal bodyguards, stationed in the imperial palace.

The Jinwu Guards were responsible for patrolling Chang'an and Luoyang, and they even had the right to intervene in the security of the entire Gyeonggi Province.

As for the Qianniu Guards, the sons of officials and the inspectors, these people have already half-detached from the military and can become high-ranking officials in one step.

The dream of soldiers in the army is to be able to enter Chang'an and Luoyang for guard duty, followed by joining the Jinwu Guard, and finally joining the Qianniu Guard. The most difficult to enter is the Imperial Guard.

Especially the emperor's personal guards.

Li Xuan nodded expressionlessly, then looked towards the Duanmen in front of him.

After three days and three nights of fighting, Li Xuan's men suffered heavy casualties, and the Zhou army guarding the palace gate also suffered heavy casualties.

Especially the old soldiers who already had few men under Yan Huaidan's command. He was so stupid as to distribute these people on various city gates. When Li Xuan's men attacked the city, these people were the first to be killed.

Don't ask them how they recognized these old soldiers.

Without these old soldiers, the combat effectiveness of Yan Huaidan's soldiers has declined rapidly, especially their morale, which has almost collapsed.

As long as Li Xuan gritted his teeth and fought again, he would be able to take over this Ziwei immediately...

"Da da da" a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came from the east. Li Xuan looked up and saw that it was Li Lang.

Li Xuan dismounted and said, "General, the kings and ministers have arrived in Yanshi."

"Okay!" Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Send a thousand people to follow me to welcome the kings and ministers."

"Yes!" Li Lang bowed and turned to go to the other side.

Li Xuan looked towards the east of Luo River. Above the surging Luo River, endless Luo water flowed eastward, and so did Li Xuan's control over power.

……

"Uncle, if the emperor...if the emperor really never hears from us, who will King Peng make emperor?" Zheng Xuankai looked at Cui Zhiwen with some expectation. Cui Zhiwen rolled his eyes at him unhappily and looked at the familiar scene outside the window: the Luo River was flowing rapidly and rolling eastward.

Cui Zhiwen did not answer directly. He looked at the Imperial College Director Lu Chen and asked, "My dear nephew, what do you think?"

Lu Chen bowed his hands seriously and said, "The emperor's trip to the east may take a long time, but it will be safe. The only thing left is that someone will supervise the country."

Cui Zhiwen immediately smiled with satisfaction. He turned sideways and glanced at Zheng Xuankai. Zheng Xuankai immediately smiled embarrassedly, and it was a bit reluctant.

Cui Zhiwen's eyes narrowed and his expression became serious. He knew that Zheng Xuankai was more confused because of concern.

Who could have thought that the daughter of the Zheng family would give birth to an emperor.

Even if he was only emperor for half a day, he was still the emperor.

Li Chongjun already had the opportunity to compete with others for the right to inherit the throne, even though he was a bastard.

Cui Zhiwen looked at Lu Chen calmly and said, "My dear nephew, please continue."

"Yes!" Lu Chen bowed slightly, and then continued: "The emperor is on an eastern tour. The ones who are currently supervising the country in Chang'an are the Prince of Linzi and the Prince of Yongping. In addition to the two of them, there are the Prince of Ping'en and Chongjun in the Ziwei Palace."

Li Chongjun, as soon as this name came out, Zheng Xuankai's breathing became heavier.

That's his grandson.

"According to the law, if the emperor's eastern tour takes too long, the country's politics will be in jeopardy. After reporting to the previous emperors of the Tang Dynasty, a new emperor can be appointed." Lu Chen turned to look at Zheng Xuankai and shook his head gently, saying, "The first person who has the right to succeed is Prince Ping'en. He is the emperor's younger brother and the queen's son. He also has the support of the entire Wei family. It is difficult to change him."

"Is it difficult?" Zheng Xuankai suddenly looked up and stared at Lu Chen.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "It's difficult, but there is a chance. The key is to see who the Queen will let survive."

"King Peng has surrounded the Ziwei Palace, and the Queen Mother changed Tang to Zhou. There is no need to worry about anything else. It is nothing more than conquering the Ziwei Palace. Although the Ziwei Palace is a tough nut to crack, with King Peng's means, conquering the Ziwei Palace is nothing more than a matter of time, but..." Cui Zhiwen looked at Zheng Xuankai and said solemnly, "But who knows how the Queen Mother will go crazy before she dies."

When Cui Zhiwen mentioned the word "crazy", he gritted his teeth.

The Queen Mother killed Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong, and established Li Chongjun as the emperor. However, within half a day, she drove Li Chongjun off the throne, proclaimed herself emperor, and changed the name of Tang to Zhou.

Even looking back now, many of the things Empress Wu did before were actually serving the present.

Li Hong and Li Xian, one died and the other was deposed, which was full of endless mysteries at the time. However, many people knew what happened, but those were the royal family's own affairs after all, and many people kept their mouths shut for their own future.

However, when Empress Wu changed the Tang Dynasty to Zhou, it meant that all the ministers of Li Tang would fight to the death with her.

Empress Wu was naturally aware of this. Once the Ziwei Palace was breached, she would not survive.

But there is one last killer weapon, that is Li Chongjun and Li Chongfu.

By holding these two people in her hands, she can make deals with Li Xuan and the officials in the court.

At worst, she would be imprisoned in Shangyang Palace for the rest of her life.

And as long as you can survive, there are endless possibilities.

But he was afraid that Empress Wu would go crazy and burn down the Qianyang Palace, taking Li Chongjun and Li Chongfu with her, which would be troublesome.

"But this is also an opportunity." Lu Chen's cold voice sounded. He looked at Zheng Xuankai and said lightly: "If by some chance, Prince Ping'en died and Chongjun survived, then Chongjun would naturally be the successor."

Zheng Xuankai's eyes suddenly lit up.

"That depends on King Peng." Cui Zhiwen shook his head slightly and said, "The people surrounding Ziwei Palace now are under King Peng's command. How to give Chongjun a better chance of survival depends on what King Peng does."

"King Peng can't do anything." Lu Chen shook his head slightly, looked at Cui Zhiwen, and said, "We are here, and so are the people from the Wei family, the Pei family, and the Dou family.

Once Zhongjun and Prince Pingen both die in the palace, the remaining ones are Prince Linzi and Prince Yongping, especially Prince Linzi, whose mother is a daughter of the Pei family. "

Li Xuan's concubine Pei Shitong was also a daughter of the Pei family, and was a very close cousin of Linzi County Prince's mother, Pei.

Pei Shitong's family was killed that year because Pei Shitong entered the palace and received a small seal from Pei.

The fact that he was able to receive the small seal from Pei, who was the Crown Princess at the time, shows how close the relationship between the two was.

Lu Chen looked at Cui Zhiwen and Zheng Xuankai seriously: "So, no matter what, first make sure that Chongjun survives, even if it means that Prince Pingen survives."

Cui Zhiwen immediately understood what Lu Chen meant and whispered, "What are you planning for the future?"

Lu Chen nodded gently and said, "The key is Prince Peng. As the Grand Marshal, he is also in charge of a large army. He doesn't speak well. If he really has evil intentions, no one in the world can stop him. Once Prince Ping'en comes out of the palace alive, the first person the Wei family will deal with is Prince Peng."

"King Peng is not that easy to deal with." Cui Zhiwen waved his hand and said, "If the Wei family really doesn't know what's best for them, then they will definitely be the ones to suffer in the end..."

"So our chance has come." Lu Chen gently pointed out the key.

Cui Zhiwen nodded slightly. It was nothing more than adding fuel to the fire and provoking conflicts. They were very familiar with these things.

"In the end, it's King Peng." Zheng Xuankai couldn't help but look at Cui Zhiwen and Lu Chen and said, "King Peng will eventually become a threat."

"To kill by flattery." Lu Chen calmly spat out two words, then looked at Cui Zhiwen and said with a cupped hand: "Then dismember."

"Okay!" Cui Zhiwen nodded calmly.

……

At the East Water Gate of Luoyang, Li Xuan was dressed in black clothes and black armor. To the east, more than a dozen magnificent large ships slowly stopped.

Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen, Cui Zhiwen, Ouyang Tong, Han Wang Li Yuanjia, Huo Wang Li Yuangui, Shu Wang Li Yuanming, Lu Wang Li Lingkui and others appeared one after another.

Except for Liu Rengui, Li Yiyan, Liu Shenli and others, one-third of the prime ministers in the world are now here.

The rest are in the palace.

(End of this chapter)